photos, sweat, and tears.

ever since i got back from ecuador, i've wanted to print all my photos and put them in an album.

i originally wanted to make one, but i a) have never made a book before and b) think it would be cheaper and easier to just buy one.

so, i took a look on etsy for some ideas.

i found a photo album made from an antique door from lisbon [pictured below and found here],


a simple, lime green album with polka dot lining [pictured below and found here],


a twelve-by-twelve custom-made album that would easily fit all my photos [found here],

a beautiful hand-painted refillable scrapbook/photo album [pictured below and found here]


and this cool album with a photo of a lake stitched onto the front [pictured below and found here].


but after looking at prices [especially the album made in portugal], and reading this tutorial, i think i've decided to take the elements i like in all of these albums and make my own.

i'll probably regret this decision the second it gets difficult, but the only way i'll be able to get exactly what i want is if i make it myself.

right?


right.

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in other news...

1. remember this post about the infamous headband?
i tried it again.
it still looks dumb.
i think i'm doing something wrong.

2. a friend of mine in ecuador told me via facebook that one of the little girls in the main orphanage i worked in keeps asking about me.
i didn't think she'd remember me after i left [let alone any of the other kids], and as i told my mom about it, i sobbed at the kitchen table for a few minutes just thinking about all my kids in cuenca [and, yes, it was pretty embarrassing, but it's okay because a) it was my mom i was crying in front of and b) she's used to me crying].
i miss them all so much.
i wish i could hug and kiss them all right now and tell them how much i love them and how special and wonderful and amazing they are.
i wish i could adopt them all and take care of them and comfort them when they cry and hold them for as long as i want whenever i want and take them to disneyland and picnics in the park and shopping for new shoes and clothes that actually fit and love them forever and ever.

but i can't.

and that breaks my heart.

regardless of this, though, i'm grateful everyday for my experiences in ecuador.
for the friendships i made,
the lessons i learned,
the babies i held,
the dance parties we had,
and all the sticky hands, slobbery kisses, and big hugs.

my heart is with those children.
and i'll never ever forget them.